The present invention relates generally to a fastener system and more particularly to a and novel fastener system for use in shoe-lasting applications.
Shoe-lasting is a technique commonly employed in the manufacture of footwear for working a shoe upper into its proper form prior to the attachment of a sole thereto. Typically, shoe-lasting comprises placing an unworked shoe upper over a shoe-last, i.e., a mandrel having a shape similar to a shoe tree, and then heating and pulling the shoe upper around the shoe last until the upper conforms generally to the shape of the shoe last.
For shoes of the type that are provided with shoelace eyelets, the above-described technique can pose a problem since the tensioning of the shoe upper around the shoe last can cause the spacing between opposing eyelets on the upper to deviate from what it should be. One approach that has been used to maintain the proper spacing between opposing eyelets on the upper has been to tie together the eyelets with string or the like. Typically, this tying operation is performed with a specifically-designed machine. However, machines of this type have not been made for several years and are, therefore, quite old. In addition, such machines are rather difficult and costly to maintain and use.
Another approach that has been used to maintain the proper spacing between opposing eyelets of a shoe upper during shoe-lasting has been to couple together pairs of opposing eyelets on the upper using plastic fasteners of the type comprising an elongated filament terminating at each end in a cross-bar. To attach the fastener to a shoe upper, one of the cross-bars is inserted through a pair of opposing eyelets on the shoe upper, the other cross-bar not being inserted through either of the eyelets. The cross-bars are appropriately sized so that the fastener cannot easily be pulled through either of the eyelets. This approach, however, has not been found to be entirely satisfactory. This is because, where the eyelets of the upper are relatively large compared to the size of the cross-bars, the magnitude of the force used to pull the upper over the shoe-last is often so great as to cause at least one of the cross-bars to be bent inwardly and then pulled through its respective eyelet.
In commonly-assigned presently pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/968,397, filed Oct. 29, 1992, which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a plastic fastener which is well-suited for shoe-lasting applications and which solves many of the problems discussed above. In one embodiment, the fastener is a unitary plastic member shaped to include an elongated flexible filament having a cross-bar at one end and a paddle at the opposite end, the paddle being provided with two or more alternative openings through which the cross-bar may be inserted to form a loop. The openings are preferably disposed at different points along the length of the paddle so that different sized loops may be used for different eyelet spacings. To attach the fastener to a pair of eyelets of a shoe upper, the paddle is positioned so that one of its openings is aligned behind one of the eyelets. The filament is then drawn over the upper to the opposite eyelet, and the cross-bar is inserted first through the pair of eyelets and then through the desired opening in the paddle.
Because the paddle and the cross-bar of the aforementioned plastic fastener are mechanically coupled, one problem associated with the fastener is that the paddle opening can be difficult to properly align behind the eyelets of the upper once the cross-bar has been drawn over the upper and inserted through the eyelets. This makes automation of attachment of the fastener to a shoe last more complicated and requires more sophisticated machinery.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved fastener system for use in maintaining the proper spacing between opposing eyelets on a shoe upper during a shoe-lasting operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for using the fastener system described above.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for dispensing the component parts of the fastener system described above.